Sunday, January 5, 2014

November 18, 2013

HI HI HIYA!

Okay first of all I'm going to tell all the HILARIOUS things that have happened to me here.
1. There is a boy in my ward who is a spitting image of one of the kids off of Heavyweights.When we were at his house he randomly asked me if I liked the Smurfs and then proceeded to show me the weirdest little Smurf game I have ever seen on his ipad. Yay for tours of Smurfville. I kept expecting him to say, "Could somebody get this salami off my back?" Good times. 
2. We had lunch with a less-active named Peter Lou, from Hong Kong. I cannot even begin to describe him. We had to wear the funniest little slippers in his house. He bossed us around about helping him. It was so hilarious that it wasn't even annoying. He fed us spicy spaghetti. He also gave us a 20 minute speech on why we should all become flight attendants (that's his job).  AND come to find out as we were leaving that he was an extra in The Lone Ranger! He was one of the Asians working in the mind. I HAVE SEEN PETER LOU BEFORE. Also Sister Fletcher and I were just laughing about Peter Lou in the library and she snorted!
3. I tried talking to a little old lady decked out in Broncos gear whizzing by on her motorized wheelchair. I asked her how her day was and she gave the most hilarious old lady "meeeehhhhhhh" and kept on moving. I defeatedly called after her "Go Broncos!" Sometimes I just do things that I just have to shake my head and laugh about. Goodness.
4. We realized this week that we love coming home each night so much because Brother Allred always says in his booming voice, "Well Huuuulllloooo Sisters!". It's the best! And then they ask us about our day a bit. They're our home away from home parents! 
5. Saturday night I was falling asleep left and right. It's always a bad sign when your companion tells you, "you look reeeeaaaallllllyyyyy tired!" As I said our final comp prayer, I fell asleep but I kept talking. Sister Fletcher told me when I woke up that I said "Please bless all the things we've been given to be safe." And then I continued to ask everything to be safe about four more times. The good thing was we were safe that night! haha.
6. We tried seeing Ruth, a little old lady, with Sister Lopez, another little old lady who is just the cutest. We knocked in our normal way and when Ruth didn't answer, Sister Lopez took things into her own hands. She went to town using the door knocker. It was so loud and she did it about 10 times. Then she looked over at us and said, "You know how it is with old people." Good old Sister Lopez. She is also about five feet tall haha. 


This week (as usual!) was amazing but difficult. I learned so much about myself and how much my Heavenly Father wants to help this area and the work here.
Yesterday was an interesting day. I had my first experience with a  "bible-basher". We had set up an appointment earlier in the week with a man who's door we knocked on named Arnie. We were super excited because we actually found his name and address in our area book later! He had been taught before! But as soon as we started talking, I knew what his intentions were. I asked him straight if he had ever met with missionaries before and he lied to us. He wanted us to tell him the 7 holy days and if we could then he would read our literature and maybe, just maybe, come to our church. We got out of there pretty quick. The worst part was that he said he had so much respect for us but yet all he wanted to do was test us and set us up to show that "our gospel didn't have all the truth". I was kind of angry after this experience. Looking back it's actually quite hilarious. Luckily Sister Fletcher is level-headed and kept me on the right track, focusing on having the Spirit and what we could do to help other people around us.
I was still kind of down when we decided to tract an area before dinner. We knocked on a door and as soon as it was opened I felt the Spirit. We offered to pray on the home and Kim invited us in. After the prayer, Kim opened up to us about how her grandmother was a member of the church. She passed away a year ago and she was the light of their lives. The spirit in that home was so strong (I am almost crying about it now!). She started crying and I started crying (and I don't just cry every other day.) I just felt that strong love they had so powerfully. I testified to them that those family relationships we have here on Earth are not just for here. They are forever and eternal. They will have an opportunity to be with their grandma again. Kim invited us back next week. I am so excited to go to her home again!
Heavenly Father knows me all too well. He knows that I was having a rough day and focusing on the negative. And then I had that experience to remind me of everything I know to be true. My family is one of the most important things in my life. And there is nothing that will strengthen my testimony more than sharing it. I am so grateful that I am trusted enough to be here in this area. I love the people here so much and I love the incredible experiences I am privileged to have. I know that this experience has changed my life forever. I hope I never forget that feeling of love I felt in that home.
 I know that my experiences here are real and that people really do need Jesus Christ and His gospel in their lives. I am a bit of an oddity right now in the eyes of the world but I know that in the eyes of my Heavenly Father I am His daughter with a divine purpose. There is more to my life than just living the day-to-day. The things I am doing have eternal purposes and consequences.
Training with Sister Fletcher is going well. She has such a desire to do what is right and the drive to get it done. She is training me more than I could ever teach her and I know that Heavenly Father knew that. There is a reason why she is my companion.
District meeting this week helped us so much as well. It's strange being the only two sisters but what can you do? We were reminded of the prayer approach and the idea to sing. It has made all the difference! We have seen so many miracles because of the prayer approach! It's the best!
We had two experiences, apart from Kim, with the prayer approach (where we offer a prayer of the Saviour's peace and blessing on the home as representatives of Jesus Christ). We knocked on Nicole's door and she let us in! We prayeD with her. After the prayer we always ask how they feel. I love hearing their responses. Through the Spirit, I was able to tell Nicole that Heavenly Father knows how hard she is trying to be a good mom and that He is proud of her efforts! It was so cool because I didn't know that she had kids! She invited us back and on Saturday we were able to teach her the first lesson! When we talked about the Book of Mormon her demeanor changed and I could tell. She later explained that she has heard of the BoM before and thought it was all just a bunch of rubbish. But she said that she felt like she should read it! And so she is going to! WOOT!
The other one was Candida. We were able to pray with her and her three adorable children. I said the prayer. I love feeling how much our Heavenly Father loves these people. I also love getting inspiration about what I should pray for. We are headed back to Candida's house tomorrow! WOOT TAMBIEN!
Some of our days we don't have a lot of set appointments. So we do a lot of less-active hunting. This week we stopped by to see a less-active and instead met her 20 ish year old daughter Aryanna. They live in a rough neighbourhood. At first she shut us down pretty hard core but we said a prayer with her and then she let us come in! We got to know her and learned that she has awesome goals set but she doesn't have a lot of support. She was so happy to have positive people come into her life. She doesn't remember much about the gospel but she remembers the morals and standards it taught. She wished she would have kept them. It was so sad but I'm so happy we found her and can help her! She agreed to try to pray! It's so cool to meet such interesting people who have had hard lives.
Saturday morning we helped a lady rake some leaves and helped some members move into our ward. YAY FOR MANUAL LABOUR. Peter Lou was there helping with the move and he, of course, was so funny. He was quite gung-ho about it and then when he was getting really tired and sweaty he just kept repeating, "wax on, wax off!!" HAHAHAHA.
So my companion is awesome. Sometimes I glance over and think, "What is Cami Wilde doing here?". And then I remember that it's my comp and they look like identical twins. Also she has a lot of the same mannerisms as Whitney. Twins everywhere! Also she loves Star Wars and has the coolest Star Wars pj pants. It makes me pretty happy.
Some days are difficult. There is a lot of change in my life. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do my very best and I am very hard on myself when things don't work out. I am trying to relax and be happier! And with the help and support of my Saviour, Sister Fletcher, my family, and the ward I am doing it! Missionary work is the best! 
I hope you all have the best week and that you find a way to share the Gospel!
Love,
Sister Turner

No comments:

Post a Comment